Bethune-Cookman's 1st season under Woodie ends in Florida Classic loss to Florida A&M
ORLANDO — It’s a familiar story.
Bethune-Cookman’s defense gave the Wildcats a chance. But turnovers and overall offensive struggles killed it.
Saturday’s Florida Classic followed the script of the 2023 season to a T.
In front of 56,227 fans — the rivalry’s highest attendance since 2011 — at Camping World Stadium, No. 7 Florida A&M claimed its third consecutive victory in the series 24-7.
The Rattlers’ 24 points sat only one above their season low of 23, which came against Alabama State in September. But 10 of those 24 points spawned from Bethune-Cookman turnovers in the first half. Florida A&M led 17-0 at intermission and did not turn the ball over.
For the Wildcats, it was a frustrating end to a 3-8 campaign.
“FAMU was the better team tonight,” first-year coach Raymond Woodie Jr. said. “We had our chances to escalate scores, but we gave the ball away and we didn’t stop the run like we should’ve stopped the run. I just think we did not capitalize on the things we were given.”
Bethune-Cookman coughed up a fumble at its own 22-yard line on its first drive. The Rattlers hopped on it and, three plays later, found the end zone on a 3-yard rush by Jaquez Yant.
They took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, marching 91 yards on 11 plays. Terrell Jennings capped it with another 3-yard plunge.
On the Wildcats’ next offensive snap, quarterback Walter Simmons III launched a deep pass over the middle, but it was intercepted by Eric Smith. That led to a 44-yard Cameron Gillis field goal four minutes later.
Bethune-Cookman held the ball for the majority of the third quarter and held Florida A&M to six plays for eight yards and two punts in the period. The Wildcats cut their deficit to 17-7 with a 7-yard Simmons scramble.
In the fourth, the Rattlers put the game away on a nine-play, 98-yard march. Jennings broke off their longest scamper of the afternoon, traversing 35 yards for the touchdown.
Bethune-Cookman had two more possessions. It punted on the first, and on its final drive, newly inserted freshman QB Dominiq Ponder hurled an interception.
From there, Florida A&M drained the final two and a half minutes from the clock.
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“Execution is the key,” Woodie said. “When you have one missed block, one missed catch, one bad throw, we should’ve been more sound in execution.”
The Rattlers outgained the Wildcats 325-244 and wrapped up their first 10-win season since 1999. In the same time frame, Bethune-Cookman had three 10-win seasons (2002, 2010, 2013).
This is the first time the Wildcats have fallen in three straight Classics since 2008-2010.
Simmons and Ponder combined to complete 11 of their 29 passes for 112 yards and those two interceptions. On the ground, Bethune-Cookman accumulated 132 yards on 34 carries. Jimmie Robinson III’s 74 yards (21 carries) were a game high.
“It’s a tough loss — something I got to deal with for the rest of my life, ending football by losing to them,” Robinson, a senior, said. “But they deserved it. They came out. They fought.”
Iverson Clement finished with a team-leading eight tackles. The Wildcats did not record a sack but had four tackles for loss.
“I’m proud of the guys for what they’ve been through, and having an opportunity to coach those guys was a blessing,” Woodie said. “They started out one way and ended up on a strong note as far as character and work ethic and as football players. We’re really excited about the guys that we inherited and then obviously going and getting more guys to add to this football team we’re trying to rebuild.”
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Season in review
Bethune-Cookman hired Woodie in February after its relationship with Ed Reed fractured, handing its new coach a late start.
He missed most of the recruiting cycle and then dealt with numerous players leaving the team via the transfer portal. Preaching unity, structure and accountability, Woodie added more than 50 new players between the spring game in late April and the start of the season.
The Wildcats dropped their season opener at Memphis. In Week 2, they captured the first win of the Woodie era against Savannah State.
But beginning with a blowout loss to the then-ranked Miami Hurricanes, they suffered through a six-week losing streak, including three one-score defeats.
Throughout the dip, Bethune-Cookman rode the quarterback carousel due to injuries and inconsistency and tallied more than 18 points only once. Four signal-callers — Simmons, Ponder, Luke Sprague and Tylik Bethea — received playing time this season. Their totals: nine touchdowns, 10 interceptions and less than 1,600 passing yards.
The Wildcats also lost 13 fumbles in 11 games.
But once the calendar flipped to November, they grabbed some momentum and played their best ball. They notched back-to-back home wins over Mississippi Valley State and Alabama A&M by multiple scores.
Even in its Florida Classic loss, Bethune-Cookman contained the Rattlers, who entered the matchup boasting the top-ranked offense and defense in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, better than most opponents on their schedule.
What’s next?
Woodie will head into his first full offseason as a head coach, and it’ll be a more normal winter. He won’t face a mass player exodus, have to recruit an entire staff or calm a program.
His systems are in place. So are his assistants.
He even has a new on-campus practice field to use as a recruiting pitch. Delivering those and bolstering the roster will be his most important task in the next few months.
“We want to build a disciplined team first,” he said. “We’re trying to do it the right way, and when you have a disciplined team, wins are going to come …
“Going out and recruiting the ones who want to be here at B-CU. When I was here (as a student-athlete in the 1990s), guys that wanted to be here were here, and we played tough, hard-nosed football. Those are the guys we’re looking for. We’re looking for the right guys, and we’re going to build it the right way.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: College football: Bethune-Cookman loses 3rd straight Florida Classic
